Embargos, HMRC Payment defaults, non payment of wages, the usual under Dai Wrongge

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Just the HMRC to go then, presume that'll be sorted next week and then we can all wait for the same this time next month.

Its still not made it on to the EFL website, its a week now....are we certain HMRC hasn't been paid?

[Silver Fox]

Lewis Coombes reporting that Dai paid this months wages.

Not completely sure about that, given the wages usually get paid in the afternoon (assume from Dai's BVI company).

The fact we got confirmation much earlier this month suggests the club may have borrowed the money to cover.

How does it suggest that?

[Stranded]

Lewis Coombes reporting that Dai paid this months wages.

Not completely sure about that, given the wages usually get paid in the afternoon (assume from Dai's BVI company).

The fact we got confirmation much earlier this month suggests the club may have borrowed the money to cover.

How does it suggest that?

It doesn't - nobody gets paid at the exact same time each month - sometimes it hits accounts early in the day, sometimes toward the end of the business day. Contracts state you will be paid on X date, not what time on that day.

[NathStPaul]

Reading Football Club can confirm that a sum owed to HMRC and due by Friday 22nd September 2023 remains outstanding.

In exceeding the default period, the club reported this breach and has again been placed under a registration embargo with immediate effect. It will remain in place until the breach has been remedied.

On behalf of everyone at Reading Football Club, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our community, our commercial partners, sponsors and suppliers and, most importantly, our fans - for your continued support and patience during this extremely challenging period.

We also want to place on record the club’s appreciation to its staff who continue to represent the club admirably in increasingly demanding circumstances. We can confirm that the wage bill for September has been satisfied in full and in a timely fashion.

The club continues to suffer significant cashflow issues and, in striving to establish sources of stable external investment, we can confirm that there has been significant interest from a number of parties seeking involvement in the club.

Discussions and due diligence processes with a number of these potential investors continue apace. Our owner, Mr Dai, is openly inviting further credible offers of interest and declarations of intent from parties eager to pursue a potential sale of the club.

[Royal Ginger]

So we’re begging now?

[NathStPaul]

We are so fcuked.

[Lower West]

A calculated decision to meet the payroll and kick the HMRC liability into the short grass while avoiding a points penalty. Teetering on the edge of a precipice springs to mind.........

Administration cannot come soon enough. At least then the club can move forward with a purpose and rebuild. As at the moment decay simply sets in further.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

First time I think the club have officially mentioned anything about a sale though, so it does sound like something is in the works at the moment. At least we won't be seeing any points off this month thankfully which is only a benefit to the team and must come as a relief ahead of tomorrow as well. Hopefully we can push this sale through as quickly as possible, get the tax bill paid, free us from our embargo and hopefully, start afresh.

[WestYorksRoyal]

It's rocky, but this is a step in the right direction. Dai is open to selling and giving up the delusion of finding an investor to bank roll his shit show. Could be more anxious moments on the way - he's not in a strong negotiating position and may find nobody matches his asking price. But when faced with a lower price or HMRC winding up order he'll probably relent.

[Ricardo]

Hopefully this will silence the critics.

Why should this silence the critics?
The club are up to their neck in shite thanks to that Chinese crook.
All that’s happened is employees have been paid on time which is a basic requirement.

[Hound]

Hope Dai doesn’t define credible as 70m+

[Lower West]

Hopefully this will silence the critics.

Why should this silence the critics?
The club are up to their neck in shite thanks to that Chinese crook.
All that’s happened is employees have been paid on time which is a basic requirement.

The vultures will be circling looking to pick off the cream of the club's employees. After all. Who in their right minds will want to stay. If there's greener grass elsewhere.

[Lower West]

Hope Dai doesn’t define credible as 70m+

There'll be debts to clear within this.

[NathStPaul]

Hopefully this will silence the critics.

Why should this silence the critics?
The club are up to their neck in shite thanks to that Chinese crook.
All that’s happened is employees have been paid on time which is a basic requirement.

The vultures will be circling looking to pick off the cream of the club's employees. After all. Who in their right minds will want to stay. If there's greener grass elsewhere.

John from accounts on a free transfer to Charlton Athletic.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Hopefully this will silence the critics.

Why should this silence the critics?
The club are up to their neck in shite thanks to that Chinese crook.
All that’s happened is employees have been paid on time which is a basic requirement.

The vultures will be circling looking to pick off the cream of the club's employees. After all. Who in their right minds will want to stay. If there's greener grass elsewhere.

Firstly, nobody can register anywhere else until January, so we have the players until then.

Secondly, despite absolutely everything off the pitch, it finally looks like we may be building something on it. If you're a young player at the start of your career, you want to give it a couple of months for off pitch issues to be resolved instead of jumping ship just as you're getting your first opportunity.

If the club needs to sell someone at knock down value as the Athletic discussed just to stave off HMRC, then that happens and we have to swallow it.

But for now, live week by week and hope the investment/takeover is completed. We've cleared another hurdle today - players paid means no pending points deductions, which clears a potential negotiate blocker. Next hurdle is when HMRC becomes a bigger issue, but realistically it's at least a month until that reaches a court.

We could end up with a firesale, administration, or any number of bad outcomes. But today wages have been paid and the club has publicly acknowledged being available for sale. It has to be viewed as positive, even if there may be more negative developments next week.

[3points]

the fact due diligence has been confirmed as ongoing is also a positive. Shows there is proper interest and it is quite far along. May still end up coming to nothing or not meet Dai's expectations.

Biggest threat now is HMRC and the club receiving another winding up petition. For repeat offenders, HMRC don't give you the benefit of time. We've recently seen them issuing demand letters and demanding payment in 24 hours before the petition is presented. You then have to wait of a court hearing being scheduled and that then sets the timeline for completing the transaction.

From my professional opinion we will either be sold or in administration inside 4-6 weeks. The only thing that stops that is if a buyer decides they need more time and puts some temporary funding into the club to continue to fund losses, pay wages and stave off HMRC.

[Elm Park Kid]

HMRC aren't going to do anything to put the club at risk. They took a bath on quite a bit of the tax that Derby owed in order to facilitate the sale. Southend have been given reprieve after reprieve. However this ends, it's not going to be over an unpaid tax bill.

The biggest threat is that Dai is just going through the motions and has no intention of selling.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Why should this silence the critics?
The club are up to their neck in shite thanks to that Chinese crook.
All that’s happened is employees have been paid on time which is a basic requirement.

The vultures will be circling looking to pick off the cream of the club's employees. After all. Who in their right minds will want to stay. If there's greener grass elsewhere.

John from accounts on a free transfer to Charlton Athletic.

I don't think anyone should be going anywhere near our accounts department. Especially Debbie. It's her fault we're in this mess.

[Lower West]

HMRC aren't going to do anything to put the club at risk.

The only protection available is to put the club into administration.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I am surprised how many Derby, Oxford and QPR fans are loving our situation. It's probably just a vocal minority, but makes the entire fanbase look like bell ends.

I like to think that if we come out of this with a good owner and the shoe is on the other foot one day, I'll be a bigger man and still be able to sympathise. But I'll probably have a quiet smugness, if not being a dick about it publicly.